Western Slope Congressman Jeff Hurd last week joined other Republican members of the House to pull back $1 billion in previously allocated funds for public broadcasting, effectively taking the public out of public radio and television. The vote happened after midnight on Thursday night and passed by just 3 votes, 216-213. Two Republicans from Ohio and Pennsylvania voted with Democrats against the cuts.
The bill targets roughly $8 billion for foreign assistance programs, including USAID. The package also includes about $1 billion in funding cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio and television stations, NPR and PBS.
Within Hurd’s district are many small community radio stations of the kind likely to be most harmed by the funding cut. In fact, District 3 stands out as a region that is home to many old-style, small-scale community stations that resisted a trend of consolidation into state-wide public radio networks.
In addition to KDNK, stations in Alamosa, Ignacio, Durango, Cortez, Paonia, Telluride, Crested Butte and Grand Junction rely in part on public funds to serve their communities from live and local studios.
At KDNK, that razor-thin vote means losing $174,000, or somewhere between a quarter and a third of our budget for next year’s 24/7 service to our communities.
Stay connected to KDNK and together, we can stay strong and vital.
